(AN: Sorry for the late update guys. School just started, and the last couple weeks of summer were so hectic, and now I'm bombarded with homework, after only the second day! Grrrr….. Anyway, sorry for making everyone wait (again), and I'll bet your all tired of excuses and apologies, so right to the story. Enjoy!)

Chapter 17:

Raven shielded herself, waiting for the pain to come, and feel the wet trickle of blood. But seconds more passed, more than it should have taken. A soft whimper rose to her ears, and she slowly raised her head. B.B. had fallen to his knees, and seemed to be in a state of quiet agony. He had a hand to each side of his head.

"Ra…ven," he cried out, in a voice much unlike his norm.

"Beast Boy, what is it?" she said, reaching out to him.

He slapped her hand away, and snarled at her.

"I…can't control my…self for long. Stay back, please," he cried, looking into her deep eyes. His own eyes had an almost human look again. "Raven, please, I…just...have done a horrible thing. They'll kill me…maybe…us. And, I…can't…keep control…can't stay human for long."

"Beast Boy, there has to be a way. We'll figure it out, somehow. And as for our lives…B.B. , I love you, more than you could ever know. We've only known each other for a few weeks, and, as naïve as it sounds, I…just know. We can run, leave the country, at least move away from here. Maybe there are more like us out there."

"Us?" B.B. snarled.

Raven opened her palm, focused, and with renewed strength, a small ball of black energy formed in her hand.

"My…god" he said, sounding more human.

"B.B." she said, holding back tears, and, ignoring his words, opened her arms and jumped toward him, closing in a hug.

B.B.'s eyes opened wide, and a tear ran down his furry cheek.

"Raven…" he said, embracing.

Suddenly, the Beast began to take hold once again, causing him to spasm, and wrench backwards. His arms still around Raven, he let out a loud roar, and dug his claws into Raven's back. The wounds weren't too deep, yet, but they were enough to bring tears to Raven's eyes.

"Beast…Boy," she said, and coughed a small trickle of blood.

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, and twenty officers, each armed with an array of weapons, filled the doorway.

"What the hell…" the leader said, then focused on the target, "Team, fire at will, but try not to hit the girl."

One of them in front, holding an automatic shotgun, fired a shot that blew a medium sized chunk out of B.B.'s shoulder. He howled in pain, and dropped Raven. Turning, he tore through the left wall, and ran into the hall through another room.

"Ra's, take care of the girl, and call an ambulance. Rest of you, move after him. Go!" the leader shouted, and headed down the hall.

-xxx-

The animal instinct inside him took over, and all his brain functions became one simplistic idea: Run. And that is just what Beast Boy did. He didn't care that his shoulder hurt worse than anything he had felt before. He also didn't care that bullets flew by inches from his body. All he cared about was running away. The instinct drove him on and on.

-xxx-

Raven was alone again. The Arabic man tending her wounds didn't matter. To her, the only person she may ever acknowledge again, was Beast Boy. And Starfire. And all of her friends.

"Why the hell are you here?" the man asked her.

"OH," she came back to reality, "Well, I know him sir. He's not a murderer, or he wasn't. I was…well the one you guys were looking for, that you thought he kidnapped."

"My god, you are serious, aren't you?" he said.

"Yes sir."

"Stop with the sirs. Call me Ra's. Ra's Al Ghul."

"Sorry," she said, and tried to stand to go after Beast Boy. Ra's pushed her back down.

"Not in your condition," he snapped.

Please," she said, a tear in her eye, "I…love him."

I'm sorry," he said, adding another bandage to her back, then pulling her shirt straps back over her shoulders.

"Don't be," she said, "Just get out of my way!" she screamed out, and her eyes filled with black light.

Raven forced him off and threw him into the wall.

"Sorry," she said, "But I won't let them kill him."

Raven stood, and began to run, following the sound of gunfire toward the animal she loved.